Let It Be… Naked

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Let It Be… Naked
Remix album by The Beatles

Publication
(s)

November 17, 2003

admission

February 4, 1968, 2–31 January 1969, January 3rd, 4th and 8th 1970

Label (s) Apple / EMI

Format (s)

CD , LP , download

Genre (s)

skirt

Title (number)

11

running time

35 min 4 s

occupation
  • George Harrison : lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, vocals

Guest musicians:

production

Paul Hicks, Guy Massey and Allan Rouse

Studio (s)

chronology
1
(2000)
Let It Be… Naked The Capitol Albums Vol. 1
(2004)

Let It Be… Naked is a revised version of the album Let It Be by the British group The Beatles . This is an approximation of the original version of the album, before the producer Phil Spector provided the recordings with orchestral and choir recordings. The album was released on November 14, 2003 in Germany, in Great Britain on November 17 and in the USA on November 18, 2003.

Let It Be… Naked is the sixth album of the Beatles, which after their separation, contains previously (partially) unreleased recording material.

prehistory

After the problems and numerous disputes between the group members while working on the album The Beatles , the last recordings of which were completed in mid-October 1968, it was Paul McCartney who was the driving force looking for a way out of the crisis. He wanted to bring the group back to its origins. Without having a clear idea about the project, the Beatles met on January 2, 1969 at Twickenham Film Studios to rehearse pieces for a possible live performance. George Martin and Glyn Johns were responsible for the sound recordings .

The last recordings in Twickenham took place on January 16, 1969. On January 20, 1969, the Beatles moved to their own studio in the basement of the Apple office on London's Savile Row . Two days later, the first recordings began there. The producer of the recordings was again predominantly George Martin, his production activity was supported equally by his sound engineer Glyn Johns, who, unlike George Martin, was present at all recordings.

Savile Row 3 , location of the last live performance

By the end of the month, numerous recordings were made - most of them poorly structured - in spontaneous jam sessions . In addition to some new songs of their own, the group played many cover versions from the rock 'n' roll era. The final recordings took place on January 30th and 31st, 1969. On January 30th, the group - supported by Billy Preston on keyboard - went to the roof of the Apple building and played the rooftop concert there . The songs Get Back , Don't Let Me Down , I've Got a Feeling , One After 909 and Dig a Pony were played , some of them several times. The following day, the songs that were not suitable for the performance on the roof were recorded again. These were the acoustic guitar piece Two of Us and the piano pieces The Long and Winding Road and Let It Be .

In early March 1969, Lennon and McCartney assigned Glyn Johns to take care of the completion of the album. Johns faced the problem of finding enough material from the numerous hours of recorded sessions - many of them chaotic and uninspired - that was suitable for publication. Johns worked out several versions, trying to make the recordings sound as natural and "untreated" as possible. The album was not released in this form.

In the course of 1969, the director Michael Lindsay-Hogg had completed a rough version of the film Let It Be documenting the recordings . In December 1969, Glyn Johns was commissioned again to create another version of the album as a soundtrack , which should match the song material of the film. Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came together for the last time on January 3 and 4, 1970 at Abbey Road Studios to record additional recordings for the soundtrack to the film. On January 5, 1970, Glyn Johns had created a new version of the album. This version could not convince the Beatles either and remained unpublished.

Paul McCartney said: “For me, Let It Be was the record Glyn Johns put it together - with no overdubs , no orchestra or anything else. A very direct, simple album. "

In March 1970 Phil Spector was commissioned by Lennon, Harrison and Allen Klein to finally finish the album. His most controversial changes include the orchestral and choral parts recorded on April 1, 1970, which he added to Across the Universe , I Me Mine and The Long and Winding Road .

Even after years, the opinions of those involved in the final version differed greatly:

George Martin said of the mix, “I didn't like Phil Spector's take on Let It Be at all. I've always admired his work and always thought his arrangements were fantastic. But with Let It Be he packed everything we were forbidden. I resented him for that, because in my opinion he only delivered trash. "

Paul McCartney: "I heard the Spector version again recently, and it sounded horrible."

John Lennon: “He received the shitty heap of poorly received trash. And he made something of it. Phil did a wonderful job. "

George Harrison: "[...] I personally thought Phil's involvement was an excellent idea."

Ringo Starr: "I liked Phil's work."

Emergence

In February 2002, Neil Aspinall commissioned Allan Rouse, Paul Hicks and Guy Massey to revise the album Let It Be with the aim of realizing the original idea of ​​the album - without overdubs and orchestration. When choosing the tapes, they were essentially guided by the choices made by Glyn Johns and Phil Spector. With the help of the Pro Tools software , they cleaned the previously selected tapes of unwanted background noises and corrected errors from instrumental recordings, creating new master tapes with a significantly improved sound quality compared to the original album. The producers also waived the studio calls used by Phil Spector .

The order of the tracks was changed and the Get Back single B-side Don't Let Me Down was added. The version of Don't Let Me Down contained on this album does not correspond to the studio version , but a compilation of the live versions, played during the rooftop concert . Furthermore, other versions of The Long and Winding Road and I've Got a Feeling were used, Maggie Mae and Dig It were omitted. The album includes an additional CD Fly On The Wall , which contains song and conversation excerpts from the 1969 film. The compilation is by Kevin Howlett, the technical assistant was Brian Thompson.

The album was also released as a vinyl LP (folding cover with 20-page booklet in LP-size), which contains Fly On The Wall as a 7-inch single .

The back of the CD booklet states that the original recordings were produced by the Beatles and George Martin, and that the sound engineer was Glyn Johns. Paul Hicks, Guy Massey and Allan Rouse are named as producers of the album.

Let It Be… Naked made the top ten in the UK and US. In December 2003, the album went platinum in the US for one million copies sold.

When the album Let It Be… Naked was released, the original album Let It Be was not discontinued, so both albums are available in parallel.

Republication

It was first published in download format on April 3, 2013 on iTunes . According to iTunes, the album was remastered . From July 6, 2018, the album was also available from other providers and streaming services.

Cover design

The photos for the cover are from Ethan Russel, the cover was made by Wherefore Art? designed. The CD contains a 32-page illustrated booklet, which contains an introduction by Kevin Howlett and dialogues from the original Let-It-Be book.

Track list

album

number song author Lead vocals length
01 Get back Lennon / McCartney McCartney 2:34
02 Dig a pony Lennon / McCartney Lennon 3:38
03 For you blue Harrison Harrison 2:27
04th The Long and Winding Road Lennon / McCartney McCartney 3:34
05 Two of Us Lennon / McCartney Lennon
and McCartney
3:20
06th I've got a feeling Lennon / McCartney Lennon
and McCartney
3:30
07th One after 909 Lennon / McCartney Lennon
and McCartney
2:44
08th Don't let me down Lennon / McCartney Lennon 3:18
09 I me mine Harrison Harrison 2:21
10 Across the universe Lennon / McCartney Lennon 3:38
11 let it be Lennon / McCartney McCartney 3:55

Fly on the wall

number song author Lead vocals 00running time  
01 Sun King Lennon / McCartney Instrumental 0: 12-0: 31
02 Don't let me down Lennon / McCartney Lennon 0:32–1:05
03 One after 909 Lennon / McCartney Lennon 1: 30-1: 38
04th Because I Know You Love Me So Lennon / McCartney McCartney and Lennon 2: 42-4: 15
05 Don't Pass Me By Richard Starkey Ringo Starr 5: 03-5: 06
06th Taking a trip to Carolina Richard Starkey Ringo Starr 5: 32-5: 52
07th John's Piano Piece Lennon Instrumental 5: 53-6: 13
08th Child of Nature Lennon Lennon 6: 29-6: 53
09 Back in the USSR Lennon / McCartney McCartney 6: 54-7: 06
10 Every Little Thing Lennon / McCartney McCartney 7: 20-7: 30
11 Don't let me down Lennon / McCartney Lennon 7: 31-7: 51/8: 00-8: 31
12 All Things Must Pass Harrison Harrison 9: 00-9: 38
13 She Came In Through the Bathroom Window Lennon / McCartney McCartney 10: 58-11: 03
14th Paul's Piano Piece Lennon / McCartney Instrumental 12: 59-13: 59
15th Get back Lennon / McCartney McCartney 16: 01-16: 15
16 Two of Us Lennon / McCartney Lennon and McCartney 17: 03-17: 24
17th Maggie Mae Trad. arranges Lennon / McCartney / Harrison / Starkey Lennon and McCartney 17: 25-17: 47
18th Fancy My Chances with You Lennon / McCartney McCartney 17: 48-18: 15
19th Can You Dig It? Lennon / McCartney / Harrison / Starkey Lennon 18: 39-19: 10
20th Get back Lennon / McCartney McCartney 19: 35-20: 08

Musical differences

Get back Remixing of the original version from January 27, 1969, in contrast to the Let-It-Be version, the dialogues at the beginning and end of the song were removed.
Dig a pony Remixing of the original version, in contrast to the Let-It-Be version, the musical false start at the beginning and the dialogue at the end of the song were removed and John Lennon's vocals were corrected.
For you blue Remix of the original version, in contrast to the Let-It-Be version, the drums were mixed more in the foreground and the rhythm guitar in the background.
The Long and Winding Road In contrast to the Let-It-Be version, recording take 18 from January 26, 1969 was not used here, but recording take 19 from January 31, 1969. The orchestral revision by Phil Spector was dispensed with.
Two of Us Remixing of the original version with only minor musical differences, John Lennon's acoustic guitar playing has been corrected.
I've got a feeling In contrast to the Let-It-Be version, two versions of the rooftop concert were mixed together here.
One after 909 Remix of the original version, in contrast to the Let-It-Be version, the short sung song Danny Boy was removed.
Don't let me down In contrast to the Let-It-Be version, Don't Let Me Down is included here, two versions of the rooftop concert were mixed together.
I me mine The Let-It-Be version was not adopted, but I Me Mine was re-edited, extended and remixed. The orchestral revision by Phil Spector was dispensed with.
Across the universe In this version, the sound effects, the piano, maracas and svaramandal accompaniment have been mixed up. The orchestral revision by Phil Spector was dispensed with.
let it be In contrast to the Let-It-Be version, the original guitar solo by George Harrison was mixed up and replaced by another.

Chart positions of the album

album Release Date Best placement in the charts Label catalog no.
Type title GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom US United StatesUnited States DE GermanyGermany GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom US United StatesUnited States DE GermanyGermany GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom US United StatesUnited States DE GermanyGermany
compilation Let It Be… Naked Nov 17, 2003 Nov 18, 2003 Nov 14, 2003 7th 5 13 Apple
5957132
Apple
CDP 724359522722
Apple
5957142

Promotion single

A promotional CD single containing only the song Let It be was released in Europe .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f The Beatles: The Beatles Anthology . ISBN 3-550-07132-9 , p. 323
  2. ^ Matt Hurwitz: The Naked Truth About The Beatles' Let It Be Naked. January 1, 2004, accessed March 20, 2017 .
  3. Platinum award
  4. Download the album
  5. Let It Be… Naked on iTunes
  6. Let It Be… Naked on other streaming services
  7. ^ European promotion CD Let It Be